Going for Peanuts
by cw151
Summary: After "Thor: The Dark World," Darcy Lewis finally crosses paths with Steve Rogers.
1. Going for Peanuts

Going for Peanuts

The bass vibrated throughout the giant room, cutting through every drink, body and piece of furniture. Lights were flashing and Darcy got lost in the music. She had to admit that being Jane's Intern/Personal Assistant did have mounting advantages. For one, she actually got paid now. Ever since Jane had been able to control the portals between the different alien worlds opening in London, Stark Industries had realized exactly how much of a valuable asset she was. Well, Darcy suspected that most of all, _Tony_ had realized what a great scientific catch Jane was, so only days after Thor had gotten back from Asgard, Jane, him and Darcy had found themselves on a plane back to New York. Stark Industries was now generously funding all of Jane's research, and Jane had received an entire "lab floor" to herself at Stark Tower, along with a PA (Darcy) and several lab assistants (with actual sciency-degrees, not poli-sci like hers). Jane and Thor even lived in Stark Tower – Jane because it meant the shortest way to work ever, and Thor because Stark Tower was where Jane was. Darcy also suspected that both Tony and Thor enjoyed the living arrangements on top of that – Tony seemed to take a very particular delight in showing Thor the workings of life on Earth when Jane was busy in her lab.

Darcy herself did not live in Stark Tower, but in a small, one-bedroom apartment in Lower Manhattan. It did eat up a large amount of her newly-gained income and required a daily commute to Columbus Circle, but Darcy preferred it that way – while she didn't mind Stark's generosity (who'd also offered her an apartment in Stark Tower), she wanted to preserve some kind of independence from the crazy superhero-life she'd gotten involved in. She was still trying to figure out what exactly it was that she wanted to do with her life and she wasn't sure if living in the same house as people like Iron Man, Thor, Jane and Pepper Potts would really help her get a clear vision of what real life was like.

Still, that didn't mean she couldn't cash in on _some _of the benefits of the superhero/Tony-Stark-lifestyle, such as this truly amazing club outing. Apparently, a night-out on Wednesday night was part of the Starks' Thanksgiving tradition, and so for the first time (and possibly the last) in her life, Darcy found herself in the VIP section of one of New York's hottest clubs. It had its own bar, its own dance floor, and even stereotypical velvety ropes separating the VIP area from the jam-packed rest of the club. Darcy certainly wasn't going to complain about this aspect of her job connections.

The song changed and Darcy decided to get herself something to drink. As she made her way over to the bar, she had a look around their roped-off-section. Thor was playing a very involved drinking game with Tony, and judging by the loud laughs of the people around them – including Jane – it seemed to be hilarious. Pepper was sitting on a bar stool, sipping a cocktail and talking to The Black Widow, who tonight went by "Natalie Rushman" once again, presumably to protect her own identity. Darcy had heard quite a lot about Agent Romanoff in the short time she'd spent at Stark Tower so far, and from what she'd heard, she had immediately developed a healthy respect for the woman. Even if her sources probably exaggerated some of Agent Romanoff's traits a little bit, Darcy didn't want to get on the agent's wrong side in any way.

And those were already all the people that Darcy knew. There were plenty of other VIP guests around – mostly very good-looking model-types and/or seemingly rich kids – but Darcy had no idea who they were. Tony was very inclusive when it came to partying.

When she arrived at the bar, she noticed that the noise level there seemed to have decreased significantly compared to the dance floor. As she waited for the guy in front of her to move away with the drinks he'd just bought, Darcy's eyes fell on two girls just off to the side of the bar. Both of them were standing with their backs against the wall, drinks in hand. Facing them were two hunky guys who clearly wanted to get lucky that night. Judging from the girls' facial expressions, however, that was not going to happen.

"One water, please," Darcy mouthed at the bar tender. She was close enough to the girls now to hear their exchange with the guys.

"- no, dude, I told you, we're not interested. Now, _please_, leave us alone!" Darcy heard one of them say loudly.

"Come on, babe, just a little dance. Don't be so uptight!" one of the hunky guys replied just as Darcy exchanged her water for a few dollar notes.

"Don't touch me! We said no, so get out of our way!" The girl's voice got angrier and more desperate. Darcy sighed inwardly. Seriously, what was wrong with some people?

"Yo, babe, don't – "

"Leave her alone, she told you she's not interested!" Darcy almost yelled to make sure that she was heard over the music.

The talkative – and apparently handsy – hunky guy froze and turned to her.

"What did you say?" His face contained a weird mixture of disbelief and barely guarded aggression. Darcy swallowed and straightened up a little. She held her water tight, prepared to empty the glass at the guy if she needed to escape. Where was her taser when she needed it?

"I said: Leave them alone. They don't want to talk to you," Darcy repeated, her voice firm.

"Oh yeah? Well, none of you bitches gets to tell me what to do." Talkative Hunky Guy took a menacing step towards Darcy. He was almost two feet taller than her, with dark, slick hair, a polo shirt, a very expensive watch, and an increasingly furious facial expression. His not-so-talkative-yet-just-as-hunky companion backed him up. Seriously, the two of them against her? Darcy swallowed once again. How did she always get herself into these kind of situations?

"I think someone needs to teach you to keep your mouth shut!" Talkative Hunky Guy continued as he advanced further towards Darcy, who involuntarily took a step back. She slowly got her right arm ready to throw her water at the guys and to make a run for it. She just hoped that she'd be able to make it over to Thor and Tony before the hunky guys caught up with her.

But just as Talkative Hunky Guy reached out to grab her, his arm got twisted behind his back and he yelped in pain.

"And _I_ think you should apologize to the ladies for your language and for your behavior," Darcy heard a deep and serious voice say. She followed the Hunk's twisted arm. It was held back by a very athletic blonde guy wearing a stern facial expression.

"Ugh! What the hell-" Talkative Hunky Guy hissed. The blonde guy only pulled his hold tighter.

"Ow! Okay, okay! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Talkative Hunky Guy shouted. Blonde Guy let go of Hunky Guy's arm but his facial expression remained impenetrable. Two security staff showed up next to Blonde Guy.

"These men were just about to leave. Why don't you help them find their way out," Blonde Guy told them tersely. His eyes seemed to pierce right through the men opposite him.

"You are going to regret this!" Talkative Hunky Guy spat at Blonde Guy before he and his not-so-talkative friend disappeared in the crowd, framed by the two security officers. Blonde Guy watched them disappear for a second before he faced Darcy.

"Are you alright, miss?" he asked. His deep-blue eyes now scrutinized hers, and Darcy noticed that a small crease had formed on his forehead. Blonde Guy seemed to genuinely care about the situation, and not in a "look-at-me-the-super-macho-saving-the-damsel-in-distress" kind of way.

"Miss?"

Darcy shook her head slightly to clear her head.

"What? Yes! Yes, I'm fine, thanks!" she sputtered. Blonde Guy's face lit up a little and he nodded shortly. Darcy quickly scanned him head to toe. Damn, he looked good. A few strands of his sandy blonde hair fell on to his now crease-free forehead, and his perfectly even features ended in one of the sexiest jawlines Darcy had ever seen. And that was only his head. Darcy was usually not drawn to model-type guys, but in this case, she had to admit that the guy had it all. Most importantly though, the guy seemed to actually be _nice._

She tore her gaze from Blonde Guy's face to check on the two girls that the Hunky Guys had threatened. Blonde Guy followed her gaze. Needless to say, the two girls were immensely relieved and thanked Blonde Guy several times. They even offered to buy him a drink, which he politely declined. Shortly afterwards, the girls were off to join the remainder of their group, which apparently hadn't even noticed what was going on. Darcy did a quick sweep of the room. As a matter of fact, hardly anyone seemed to have noticed the altercation. Thor, Tony and their audience were still deeply invested in the drinking game, and all other partygoers were still going about their usual dance/drink/talk-business. Last of all, Darcy shot a quick glance over to the table where she'd seen Pepper and Agent Romanoff earlier. Pepper wasn't there anymore, but Agent Romanoff was still in the same spot. Only now, Agent Romanoff was staring at her and Blonde Guy with an inscrutable facial expression. Darcy quickly averted her eyes and looked back at Blonde Guy.

"Thanks for saving me. I'm really not sure if my planned water-in-the-face-and-run maneuver would have been successful," Darcy said with a light smile.

"You're welcome. I'm glad I could help. What you did was very brave," Blonde Guy replied. "Many people wouldn't even have stood up against those guys."

"Yeah, probably because many people are a lot smarter than me," Darcy replied. "I mean, not that I shouldn't have helped – because I can't _not_ help – but I guess I could have just gotten security straight away. Somehow I don't always think before I act. Or before I open my mouth. I get carried away." Her smile turned into a sheepish grin.

"I know what you mean." Blonde Guy's eyes lit up when he said it. "I also used to get into a lot of trouble when I just wanted to help."

"How? Just one look at you should send all the bullies running!" Darcy grabbed his right arm with her free hand and held it out. "Just look at the size of you!"

An incredibly shy and embarrassed smile crossed Blonde Guy's face. "It wasn't always like this. _I _wasn't always like this. There was a time when I needed plenty of saving myself."

"Well, I'm glad that you are using your newfound powers for good then." Darcy countered. "I'm Darcy, by the way."

"Steve Rogers," Blonde Guy replied. It took a moment for Darcy's mind to click. She raised her eyebrows.

"Wait, _Captain_ Steve Rogers?" she asked, trying to beat down the mixture of nervousness and excitement that quickly rose inside her.

Steve just gave her another sheepish smile.

"Yeah, but Steve is absolutely fine," he replied.

"Wow, well that explains – _things_. _You_." Darcy gestured up and down his body and quickly shook her head once again. "Sorry, I honestly had no idea. Thor talks about you all the time, so you'd think I should have recognized you." She smiled. "Hey, that means you do have actual newfound superpowers that you are using for good. Not just a happy realization about the usefulness of workouts. I wasn't too far off earlier."

"Actually, it's just genetic enhancement. Fitness, no superpowers," Steve explained, still a bit abashed. "How do you know Thor?"

"I tased him," Darcy replied matter-of-factly, and Steve did a double-take. "In New Mexico, when he first came to Earth. Jane, Erik and I ran into him with our RV. By accident, of course. Fortunately he's built the way he is so he didn't get hurt. Just a few scratches. He was scary, though, so I still tased him."

Steve's facial expression seemed torn between confused and amused.

"But then he saved us all from that Destroyer-thing, and fell in love with Jane in the process. I'm Jane's assistant, and ever since Thor's moved down to Earth – or at least I think he has, he didn't actually say he did – he and I have been hanging out a lot when Jane was busy doing science."

"So, you live at Stark Tower as well then?" Steve asked.

Darcy shook her head and quickly explained her living situation. Afterwards, there was an awkward silence. Darcy was just wondering if she should leave it at that and head back to Jane when Steve suddenly blurted out: "I'm sorry, I'm trying really hard to think of an alternative to 'Can I buy you a drink?' given that you already have one and I really don't want our conversation to be over."

Darcy had to bite the inside of her cheek to make sure her grin wouldn't get as wide and giddy as her insides seemed to want it to go.

"Well, you could just ask me to dance. Or you could invite me to have some peanuts. I haven't got anything to eat right now and they seem to have some behind the bar," she replied, desperately hoping that she came across even remotely nonchalant.

"I'll go for the peanuts then. I'm not sure I'm made for dancing," Steve replied with a relieved smile. Darcy raised an eyebrow.

"I'll only believe that when I see it! Let's start with the peanuts, though," she replied as she grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the bar.

Across the room, an amused glint appeared in the eyes of Natalie Rushman.


	2. Lockdown

Darcy woke with a start. She hadn't even noticed that she'd fallen asleep. The bright sunlight falling through the windows of her guest suite at Stark Tower made her squint, and she immediately checked her phone.

Nothing.

No messages, no calls, nothing.

Sighing, she sat up, wincing as she noticed a pulled muscle at the back of her neck. She'd been trying so hard to stay awake in case there was any word from Steve that she'd refused to even go near the huge bed in the next room, no matter how comfortable and inviting it looked. It didn't quite work however – instead, she'd just fallen asleep in an armchair in the living room, the tablet on which she'd been reading in her lap.

Darcy sighed and went to the bathroom to freshen up. As she was brushing her teeth, her mind wandered back to the extremely short phone call she'd had with Steve not even twelve hours ago. Steve's voice had sounded incredibly urgent, and she could tell from his tone that he was in full mission-mode.

"Darcy, there's something going on and I haven't figured out what and how big it is. Could you stay at the Tower tonight? It's just a precaution but it'd make me feel a lot better. I just talked to Tony and he said you could have one of his guest rooms. I'll call you as soon as I can."

Only a few minutes later, Tony had come – or rather _flown_ - home in his suit. He told her and Pepper that he'd just checked on Steve's on-the-job apartment in DC because there had been an explosion, and that Director Fury had been seriously injured. Now, Steve was off catching the bad guys who did it, having refused Tony's help for the time being.

After Darcy had freshened up a little, she took the elevator up to the general living area on the top floor. On her way up, Jarvis informed her that Jane and Thor were in Jane's lab, and that Pepper and Tony were having breakfast. Dr. Banner was still in India with Dr. Ross to show her where he'd spent the last few years (and probably to rekindle the flame between the two, Darcy mused – those sparks between them were very hard to overlook).

True to Jarvis's word, Darcy found Pepper and Tony eating pancakes at the kitchen island and quarrelling as they usually did. They stopped when Darcy came near them.

"Good morning, Darcy! Would you like to have a pancake? It seems we have enough to feed an entire army!" Pepper greeted her with one of her incredibly heartwarming smiles. Darcy shot her a small smirk.

"Yeah, thanks!" She replied as she sat down on the chair next to Pepper's.

"Heard anything from Steve?" Pepper asked. Darcy shook her head as she helped herself from a truly immense mountain of pancakes in the middle of the island.

"I've been keeping tabs on SHIELD's servers. Nothing there about him either," Tony replied, his mouth full of pancake. "As a matter of fact, hardly any new information at all since last night, and absolutely nothing on Fury."

Pepper shot him a reproachful look and raised one of her eyebrows.

"I thought we talked about hacking into SHIELD's databases," she said, her voice cheerful yet somehow like steel.

Tony looked at her, eyes wide.

"We did, and we agreed that it was absolutely fine to take a look at their data in special situations, and this is most definitely a special situation, don't you think? I mean, the safety of Capsicle is on the line here," he replied, stuffing another fork-full of pancake into his mouth.

Pepper rolled her eyes.

"No, _you_ said it was fine to hack into SHIELD's computers in special situations, and I said that we should clear it with them first. There's a reason why SHIELD's information isn't accessible for everyone. How would you feel if they hacked into our Stark databases?" she asked, impatient.

"They couldn't. There's no way they'd get through our firewall," Tony shot back with a wide grin before shoveling some more pancake into his mouth.

Pepper shook her head and turned her attention back to Darcy.

"I'm sure Steve is fine," she said with a sympathetic smile.

Darcy just nodded and squirted a syrup smiley on to her pancakes.

Pepper spun back to Tony and was about to say something when Jarvis spoke up all of a sudden.

"Pardon the interruption, Ms. Potts, but SHIELD is requesting Mr. Stark's and Mr. Odinson's immediate assistance at an oil refinery fire in Canada."

"Shanksh, Charvish," Tony said through another mouthful of pancake as he drew up the files SHIELD sent over on the table surface next to him.

"Well, that looks bad. Better get going," he said as he gulped and hopped off his stool. He gave Pepper a quick peck on the cheek and then fixed his gaze on Darcy.

"Stay here, ok? I promised Steve I'd look after you," he said in a serious tone that was very much unlike his usual chipper self. Darcy just nodded.

"Great," Tony grinned, took another bite from his plate, waved at them, and then headed off to the balcony to get into his suit. A few seconds later, he was joined by Thor who smiled at Darcy through the window, and then the two were off.

"Right, I have to get to work as well. Are you going to be ok? I'm really sorry that I have to leave you like this but I have a conference call in a few minutes," Pepper said as she, too, got up.

Darcy gave her a crooked smile.

"That's ok, don't worry. I'll head down to Jane in a minute, anyway," she replied.

Pepper gave her a last compassionate smile before she left the kitchen.

Darcy had just pulled up Candy Crush on her phone when Pepper's worried voice rang into the room.

"Darcy! You have to come see this!"

Darcy immediately slipped off her stool and jogged into the living room. Pepper was standing in front of the television, which was currently filled with a headshot of Steve.

"… anyone knowing of the Captain's whereabouts is asked to notify authorities via the number at the bottom of the screen immediately. Do not try to confront him – he is armed and extremely dangerous, as you just saw from our footage of his breakout from SHIELD headquarters." The TV presenter's voice was ringing in Darcy's ears.

"Wait, what? They're looking for Steve like he's a criminal?" she said, desperately looking at Pepper for an explanation.

"I know, I have no idea what's going on," Pepper replied, shocked.

On the screen, the news program switched from Steve's headshot to air footage of him riding a motorcycle across a bridge. A quinjet was confronting him, but Steve took it out, and it crashed in a giant fireball behind him. Darcy's heart seemed to stop for a second.

"Right now you're seeing the footage of his escape that we showed you earlier already. This was happening right after Captain America was supposed to be questioned in connection to the death of a high-ranking SHIELD officer. So, again, if you see Captain America anywhere, don't talk to him and don't try to stop him, just call the number at the bottom of the screen."

Darcy swallowed. Apparently Fury was dead, and SHIELD seemed to think Steve killed him. Panic and fear were rising inside her. She unconsciously reached for her phone, but there were still no calls or messages. For a brief second she thought about calling Steve, but then stopped herself right away. She was sure that SHIELD knew about her connection to him, just like they knew everything, meaning that she was certainly being watched right now.

"I have no idea what this is about, but I think we both know that there is no way that Steve is a criminal. I'm assuming that the "high-ranking SHIELD officer" is Fury. Wow." Pepper paused for a second. "I can't believe he's dead!"

Pepper silenced the TV and turned to Darcy.

"I know this is really scary for you. I'll try and contact Tony and Thor right away," she said, rubbing Darcy's upper arm. The clacking of her heels filled the room as she headed across it to her home office.

Darcy swallowed and took a deep breath. She pressed her eyes shut and forced herself to calm down. She absolutely needed to stay levelheaded now. Maybe there was a way that she could still help Steve.

Just a second later Pepper came back to the room.

"Ok, this is getting even stranger. I think someone has jammed our outgoing communications. I can't reach Tony, or Stark offices, or anyone outside the Tower," she said, tapping on her phone as she spoke. "Whatever I do, it says 'Call failed.' And the Internet isn't working either."

"But the TV does work, so satellite reception seems to be ok," Darcy replied grimly.

"Jarvis, could you please look into that?" Pepper called as she dropped onto the sofa next to Darcy. "Try everything you can to lift the block."

Jarvis confirmed her order and then remained silent, presumably to execute it. Darcy groaned.

"What if Jarvis can't fix this? Should we leave?" she asked. "At least you could go to the office."

Pepper thought about that for a moment, but then shook her head.

"No. Something is clearly wrong right now. Until we know exactly what's going on, we should stay here. We're safe here. Even if we can't communicate externally, no-one can come into the tower if we don't want it. Tony and I made sure of that when we built it." She raised her voice.

"Jarvis! Initiate protocol 11-5-B, Tower Lockdown."

"Protocol 11-5-B activated," the computerized voice replied.

"Great, thank you. Please also make sure that everyone who is not Dr. Foster, Ms. Lewis, or me leaves the tower right away," Pepper added.

"Yes, ma'am," came the confirmation.

"Could you ask Jane if she can work up here today? I'd feel much better if we're all in one place. I have a bad feeling about all this," Pepper asked Darcy, who just nodded. Her eyes were back on the TV screen and her brain was still desperately trying to wrap itself around the pictures she was seeing.

They called Jane via the internal communications system and then sat down on the couch in front of the soundless TV.

"I have to say that I'm really worried," Pepper said quietly. "Captain America really is a national hero, a sappy as it sounds. To brand him a criminal and in such an intense fashion is not just a blip. People have seen and heard what he's done for us, at least during World War II and during the Battle of New York. If you publicly announce someone with Steve's image to be a criminal, it is a very deliberate move. Given that we both know that Steve would never kill Fury or evade SHIELD unless there was a pretty good reason for it, I'm just worried about what's really happening here."

Darcy bit her lip. Pepper was right. Even if Darcy herself couldn't explain it as well as her, Darcy, too, had a bad feeling about all of this.

"And that's just the beginning. It doesn't take into our account our jammed communications or Tony and Thor coincidentally being called away just before the news about Steve broke," Pepper continued. "Jarvis, any update on the jamming?"

"Unfortunately not, ma'am. I'm still trying to break it," came the reply.

"You think they may be cracking down on Tony and Thor as well?" Darcy asked, shocked.

She hadn't even thought about the possibility. It looked like her naiveté had gotten the better of her again, and she silently berated herself. It seemed that more often than not, she just wasn't cunning enough to imagine all the stuff the bad guys could be up to. While she of course knew that there were lots of bad people in the world doing bad things, it felt like she never quite understood just how many bad guys there really were and how evil they could get. A part of that was probably due to the fact that she couldn't understand why some people tried to hurt others in the first place. Sure, if someone was starving and fighting someone else over a loaf of bread, or if someone stole money to pay their sick loved one's medical bills – she got where those people came from. But others? Just why would someone want to enslave an entire planet or country? Or human traffickers, and drug lords, and the like – just how could they not care at all about the people they were hurting? Did they never think about having the same thing done to them?

"Yeah," Pepper said quietly. "I think it may not just be Steve who's on that list. And given our connections to everyone who may also be targeted, it is safest for us and them if we stay here."

Darcy just nodded and swallowed. She turned her attention back to the TV where Steve's headshot was shown again, and a minute later, Jane exited the elevator. Pepper and Darcy quickly filled her in, and just like the other two, Jane was stunned when she saw the footage of Steve and heard of Pepper's thoughts. She couldn't get through to Thor or Tony either, and finally, all three of them ended up sitting on the couch together, staring at the TV. It seemed like there were no other news stories that day; on all news channels, Steve's head shot and the escape footage kept playing in a continuous loop and were only interrupted by small bits of presenters expressing their shock and disbelief over America's fallen hero.

Darcy set her jaw.

"There has to be _something_ we can do," she said, determined. Then, something dawned on her.

"Jarvis, do you have any copies of the files Tony looked at last night when he accessed SHIELD's database?"


	3. 110

Steve felt as if he were slowly coming up from a very deep dive. Even though his eyes were closed, the world around him seemed to get gradually brighter, and bit-by-bit, sound was added. He could hear the beeping of machines close to him, and a pop song he didn't know playing. His mouth felt parched.

When he finally half-opened his eyes, he found himself in a hospital room. The music he'd been hearing came from speakers to his left, and judging by the many bandages covering his body and how heavy his entire body felt, he must have been out for a while.

Steve swallowed, and his gaze fell on Sam sitting next to his bed, reading. Despite his battered state, Steve refused to let the opportunity go to waste.

"On your left," he said. It took more strength than he'd thought.

A slow smile spread across Sam's face.

"Glad you're back, man," he said, turning towards Steve. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I fell out of a plane," Steve replied dryly. Sam smirked.

"Yeah, well, you kinda did," he replied. "I should probably call the nurse. Or before that, Darcy."

At that, Steve opened his eyes completely, and he turned his head to look directly at Sam.

"She's here? Is she ok?" he asked, licking his lips. His mouth was still much too dry.

"Yeah, she's fine. Well, as fine as she can be in a situation like this. Hasn't left your side since you got out of surgery. I forced her to go eat something earlier. She's gonna be really pissed that that was the exact moment you chose to wake up," Sam replied with a sheepish grin.

A small smile played around Steve's mouth, and he slowly turned his head back to look straight ahead. As if on cue, the door opened, and Darcy whizzed into the room.

"Okay, I've eaten something. A whole sandwich. And I brought you coffee," she said, directed at Sam. When she saw that Steve was awake, she stopped short. She set down the cup she was holding on a small table to her right, and carefully walked up to the foot of the bed. Her hands rested on the bed's railing, and she gave Steve an almost shy smile that was very much unlike her.

Sam got up.

"Right, I think it's my turn to go eat something then. Thanks for the coffee," he said as he picked up the cup and closed the door behind him.

Darcy slowly moved up Steve's bed and sat down at his side. He turned his hand up and Darcy laced her fingers through his. With her other hand, she tugged the blanket higher up his chest.

"How are you feeling?" she asked quietly.

"Ok. Tired. The pain isn't too bad, I guess most of my injuries have already healed," Steve replied. He gave her a crooked smile.

"Are _you_ ok? I'm so sorry I couldn't call! It wasn't safe, and Tony had promised me that he'd watch out for you, so I thought – or hoped – that it'd be better not to contact you," he explained, searching her face.

Darcy gave him another small smile.

"I'm fine. I stayed at the tower, like you said. Tony and Thor were called away at some point – an oil refinery fire in Canada that later turned out to be started by HYDRA – and HYDRA also cut off all outgoing communications from the tower. But all in all, we were safe. It was good that you didn't contact us, it definitely would've gotten you caught or into trouble," Darcy replied. Then her face turned serious and she swallowed.

"I was scared, though. On the news they kept saying that you were a criminal and related to Fury's death. Of course I didn't believe them for a second, but they showed how you escaped the Triskelion and later how they arrested you and Natasha with all those agents around you and I was just so… _scared_ of what they would do to you," Darcy said, her voice quiet. She avoided his gaze and instead kept her eyes firmly on their hands intertwined next to her lap. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I am _so _happy that you're alright."

Guilt spread across Steve's face. He gently tugged at Darcy's hand.

"I'm really sorry that I put you through all of this. I wish I could promise you that it won't happen again, but given my track record, I don't think I can," he said, his brows knitted. At that, Darcy's flaming eyes met his.

"No, don't apologize! It's not your fault that HYDRA tried to kill millions of people to take over the world! You _stopped _them! You always try everything you can to help. I know that's never easy, so please, don't feel guilty, not for a second," she replied passionately. Her voice dropped as she emphasized every word of the sentence that followed, and she fixed his eyes with hers. "_You are doing the right thing!_ Seriously. I'm 100% behind you. 110% even." Her smile was a bit wider this time. "Although that doesn't mean that I'll stop worrying. I guess I just like you too much for that."

Steve's contrite expression turned into a shy smile at her words. He gently pulled her closer to him.

"And I probably won't be able to stop feeling guilty for putting you through situations like this. I guess I like _you_ too much for that," he said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. An immense feeling of relief rushed through him when Darcy finally broke into one of her signature wide smiles, and she bridged the last few inches between them to give him a gentle kiss. When they broke apart, he caressed the side of her face with his free hand.

"I think we have to call the nurse now. They've been waiting for you to wake up and wanted to check on you right away," Darcy said, a soft expression on her face. Steve dropped his head on to his pillows and just nodded.

Darcy squeezed his hand, got up, pressed the button to call the nurse, and moved to sit down in the chair next to Steve's bed. He fixed her with a pensive look.

"What?" Darcy smiled at him.

"Nothing, it's just… The last time I woke up in a situation like this, I was alone, surrounded by people I didn't know, and thrown into a century I didn't know. But today, I got to wake up to you and Sam," he said, the demure smile she'd gotten to know so well playing on his lips.

Darcy's reply was cut short by the nurse bustling in, so she contented herself with an understanding smile. As she watched the nurse, and a few moments later, a doctor, checking on Steve, her thoughts on the topic of people caring about Steve moved to a particular piece of information that Sam had shared with her when they'd been waiting for Steve to wake up. It seemed that Steve's old friend Bucky was still alive, and that he had even been pitted against Steve. Now, Bucky had vanished, though. Darcy knew that Steve would probably want to try and track him down. Combined with the breakdown of SHIELD, the next few months would probably be more than eventful. Darcy sat up a little in her chair and caught Steve's eye.

It didn't matter what'd happen next. If the last few days had taught her anything, it was that she'd be there.


End file.
